Leak detector kit



July 23, 1957 J. FALK LEAK DETECTOR KIT Filed Feb. 12, 1954 INVENTOR. J086 07? ,FhZK BY United States Patent@ LEAK DETECTOR KIT Joseph Falk,Glastonbury, Conn.

Application February 12, 1954, Serial No. 409,949

3 Claims. (Cl. 15-1493) This invention relates to a gas detector kit,particularly for use by servicemen for determining gas leaks.

Heretofore, tin cans or other containers have been used to hold thedetector liquid. These have beenawkward to handle since they requiredtwo hands to operate them: one to hold the can and the other to hold thedetector liquid-applying means. Also, the tin cans rusted out and had tobe quickly replaced.

The present invention overcomes these difliculties by providing a devicewhich can be supported on any convenient place for one-hand operation,and is preferably made of unbreakable rust-proof material. This isaccomplished through the use of a container, preferably of plasticmaterial, provided with a neck portion having a closure therefor. Thecontainer is supported by means of a collar extending around the neckportion and having a bendable mounting member adapted to be connected toa support to support the container therefrom so that onehand operationmay be achieved. In the preferred form of the invention, the collar isconnected to the mounting member by means of an eye on the collar and aneye on the mounting means which permit the container to befreely-movable in respect to the support while the container is in ahanging position, said connection also permitting the mounting member tobe folded into overlapped relation with the container for the purpose ofstorage.

Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thespecification and claims when considered in connection with the drawingsin which:

Figure 1 shows a side View of the container with mounting means inoverlapped relation.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional View of the container.

Fig. 3 is a top view of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3, partly in section showing therelation of the collar and the neck.

Fig. 5 shows the container of the present invention in hanging position.

The present invention will be described in connection with a detectorkit for use with illuminating gas, in which soapy water is employed asthe detecting liquid. However, it is to be understood that it can beused to detect leaks in other pressurized devices, for example, cablesand the like.

As shown in Fig. 1, it comprises a bottle or container 1! or ovalcross-section having a neck 11 at its upper end. While the bottle may bemade of any suitable unbreakable material, it is herein preferred toform the same of plastic material such as acrylic resin, polyethylene,or the like. A closure 12 is provided for the bottle. In the preferredform of the invention the closure is a threaded cap 13 adapted to bethreaded on threads 14 formed on the exterior of the neck, and theclosure is provided with a dauber 15 mounted on a wire 16 having one endanchored in a projecting sleeve 17 on the undersurface of the cap orclosure. If desired, a sealing washer 18 can be provided in the bottomof the cap to be 2,799,882 Patented July 23, 195.7

clamped between the end of the neck and the cap. The dauber as shown inFig. 2 is of such a size as to snugly fit the neck of the container sothat as it is withdrawn, excess soapy Water will be removed therefrom.

In order to provide a means for supporting the container so as toeliminate the usual two-hand operation, the present invention provides acollar 19 having a neckembracing portion 20 adapted to be mounted in'agroove 21 on the neck for rotation therearound,'said collar beingprovided with a projecting eye 22. In the herein illus trated form ofthe invention, as clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 4, the groove is formedby the end of the bottle and the bottom thread 15, and the collar isformed from a piece of spring wire bent in a figure eight form so as toform the eye 22 and neck-embracing portion 20.

The mounting means for the container comprises a member 23 adapted to beconnected to the collar. In the herein illustrated form of theinvention, the member 23 is formed of a bendable wire having a portionextending through the eye 20, preferably in the form of a loop 24 formedat one end so as to interlock with the eye on the collar and form afreely-movable connection therewith so that the bottle can be freelysupported by the mounting member. The mounting member can have its otherend formed into a loop 25 such as shown in Fig. 5, which can be passedover the belt of the serviceman or slipped over the edge of this pocketto securely support the container in hanging position, or it can bereadily bent around a pipe or other supporting member to hang ittherefrom as conditions may require. In either case, this eliminates thenecessity of holding the bottle with one hand during the testingoperation, it being merely necessary to use one hand to manipulate thedauber.

The freely-movable connection of the mounting member on the collar alsoenables the mounting member 23 to be folded into overlapped relationwith the container 10 as shown in Fig. 1 when it is desired to store thedetector kit in the tool box of the serviceman.

Thus, it will be seen that the kit of the present invention isunbreakable and rust-proof so as to have a long life, is easy tomanipulate, convenient to mount or support while being used, and may bereadily folded into a compact unit for storage.

Variations and modifications may be made within the scope of the claimsand portions of the improvements may be used without others.

I claim:

1. A gas detector kit comprising a container for detector liquid, saidcontainer having a neck provided with a groove thereon, a closure forthe container adapted to be mounted on the neck and having a dauber forapplying said detector liquid adapted to be inserted into said containerwhen said closure is in position, a split wire collar rotatably carriedby the neck, seated in said groove, and having an eye thereon and abendable wire mounting member having a hook portion at one endinterconnected with said eye to form a freely-movable connection therewith and a supporting portion at the other end adapted to be bent into aloop to support said container in a hanging position, said wire beingmovable about said connection into overlapped relation with thecontainer for storage.

2. A gas detector kit comprising an unbreakable container of plasticmaterial adapted to receive detector liquid, said container having anexternally-threaded neck thereon and provided with a groove, a closurefor the container adapted to be threaded on the neck and having a dauberfor applying said detector liquid adapted to be inserted into saidcontainer when said closure is in position, a split wire collarrotatably carried by said groove in the neck and having an integrallyformed eye projecting therefrom and a bendable wire mounting memberhaving a portion at one end looped through said eye to 3. A 'gasdetector kit comprising an unbreakable con- I portion on the other endof the hanger adapted to hook tainer of plastic material adapted toreceive a detector H liquid, said container having a *neckprojectingbeyond the end of said container, said neck having threads for receivinga closure having a dauber depending therefrom for applying said detectorliquid, said dauber being adapted to be inserted into said container and.snugly received by said neck 'so that upon withdrawal excess liquidwill. be removed therefrom, ;a' wire collar disposed in a groove formedby the end of 'the container and lowermost neck thread, said wire collarhaving a figure 8 bend to form a mounting portionand an eye portion,said mounting portion being retained in said groove and loosely engagingsaid neck 'so as to be freely rotatable on saidneck groove and abendable wire hanger having a hook at one end for engaging the eye ofthe collar to form a freely movable connection therewith and a loop overa suitable support, said hanger being adapted to be freely movablebetween operative hanging positions to inoperative overlapped positionrelative to the container for storage.

References Cited in the file. of this patent UNITED STATES. PATENTS193,023 Newton July 10, 1877 520,053 7 Hopkins May 22, 1894 r 1,605,195Lewis a May 8, 1953 2,160,662 Jenkins May 30, 1939 2,182,046 Crabbe Dec5, 1939 2,623,229 Brinton Dec. 30, 1952 2,643,408 Decker' June 30, 1953FOREIGN PATENTS 16,556 Great Britain of '190 OTHER REFERENCES 7 Leak-TecPublication, received May 8, 1953.

